By Dr Emma Carmody, EDO Special Counsel and water law expert It’s 2018 and I’m standing in the far west of NSW on the banks of the Darling River, or Barka, as it is known to its Traditional Custodians, the Barkindji people. I’m listening to Barkindji elder Uncle Badger Bates explain what he means by […]
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Introduction The Northern Territory (NT)’s spectacular landscapes contain some of the most intact ecosystems in Australia. However, the NT also has, arguably, the weakest land clearing regulation of all the states and territories. Recently, it has seen an almost tenfold increase in land clearing approvals than of those given over the previous twelve years.[1] In […]
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Legal Information Access Centre For assistance with legal research, consider contacting the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) LIAC is a specialist information service run by the State Library of NSW and is free for NSW residents. LIAC provides legal research assistance through specialist librarians based at the State Library. Sydney LIAC’s Head Office in the NSW […]
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Our expert legal team is representing Lily and other brave young people in their landmark human rights case against Clive Palmer’s Galilee Coal Project. This is her story. When 19-year-old Lily’s house on the Sunshine Coast was impacted by last year’s devastating bushfires, she knew the climate emergency she’d been fearing was already upon us. […]
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The Environmental Defenders Office provides expert legal advice and runs groundbreaking cases to protect our climate, communities, and iconic plants and animals. […]
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Public access to information held by government departments and local councils is important in promoting open, accountable government. Government Departments usually have a freedom of information officer or contact point which are a good starting point. Sometimes the information you are looking for may have been released already. A lot of information is available on Government […]
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Parliament can be an excellent source of information Hansard Hansard is the official record of Parliamentary proceedings. Although not strictly word for word, it is verified and accurate. These edited transcripts document debates in the Senate, House of Representatives, Federation Chamber and Parliamentary Committees at the national level; and in the Legislative Council and Legislative […]
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The process for making laws, or the legislative process, is similar for both the NSW and Australian systems For a thorough explanation of how laws are made, visit the Parliament of NSW website or the Parliament of Australia website. The Making of an Act A Bill is draft version of an Act of Parliament (a law) before it […]
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Decision-makers sometimes make mistakes. There are a number of options available to the public to help ensure due process is observed and decision-makers are held accountable for their actions. Auditors-General Australian Auditor-General The Australian Auditor-General provides an independent assessment of Australian government entities, and is supported by the Australian National Audit Office. Audits involve the independent […]
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This resource summarises the main rights, responsibilities and opportunities to participate under both State and national legislation. If you would like further detail about a particular area of law, you may wish to do some legal research Legislation There are many pieces of legislation relating to the environment in NSW. This website deals with the […]
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